Physically correct rendering of inhomogeneous refractive objects in real-time is a difficult task. Many published works which address this problem require either a lot of computational power or can only reproduce a subset of optical effects achievable by a realistic simulation of light behavior inside such structures. In this thesis, we present a way for real-time rendering of complex refractive objects, described by a volumetric representation. Our approach enables us to simulate a variety of physically motivated optical effects. The algorithm is based on the eikonal equation, the main postulate of geometric optics. We derive a system of ordinary differential equations that allows us to simulate the propagation of light rays through an inhomogeneous refractive index field. Afterwards, a powerful image formation model provides for sophisticated rendering effects, such as arbitrary varying refractive index, inhomogeneous attenuation, as well as spatially-varying anisotropic scattering and reflectance properties. We also propose an efficient wavefront propagation technique, achieved with a complexity of a particle tracer, which enables us to compute the distribution of differential irradiance values inside a volume of interest. Efficient GPU implementations enable us to render a combination of visual effects that were previously not reproducible in real-time.

The thesis is based on the previously submitted work "Eikonal Rendering: Efficient Light Transport in Refractive Objects". It presents a detailed description of the algorithm including a description about the optical effects achieved with our approach. In the appendix I included a theoretical discussion about the rendering of opticaly anisotropic materials, such as crystals. These extend our framework to support more advanced effects, like Birefringence (double refraction) and Pleochroism.